Comments on Advance Indiana™: Regional Mass Transit Plan Relies On Income Tax For Funding

I will say that mobile computing has changed many ...

2011-12-14T09:40:48.500-05:00

I will say that mobile computing has changed many people's views on that, guy. People like being able to work while commuting to work using their mobile computing devices and cell phones. It's much easier to do that if you can sit and ride to work without worrying about watching the road.

Here are some main problems. Will people in Carmel...

2011-12-14T09:32:09.648-05:00

Here are some main problems. Will people in Carmel and Fishers going to want to drive 15 minutes to hop a train in Fishers and then wait 10 minutes for the train. Then you figure a 20 to 30 minutes to downtown. Throw in a 15 to 20 minutes walk to work. In that time they could have driven downtown and parked and been at their office in a shorter time. Light rail makes no sense. People in Indiana just don't like to walk. This isn't Chicago, New York or Boston where a commuter thinks nothing of waking 8 to 10 blocks to work.

Spend money and get our bus system in the inner (inside 465) city to have move buses and stops. These are the people who will really benefit from mass bus transit. I know numerous people that drive from Carmel downtown and it usually doesn't take more then 30 minutes.

People don't talk about the real reason mass t...

2011-12-13T22:18:12.925-05:00

People don't talk about the real reason mass transit has not taken off here. The population is less dense than in virtually any major city in the U.S. Of the top 20 cities, we rank 19th in population density in one study I looked at.

Keystone won't need to get into the railroad b...

2011-12-13T17:34:12.578-05:00

Keystone won't need to get into the railroad building business. They can build the permanent stations for the rail line and the bus rapid transit lines.

I'm betting that Keystone gets into the rail b...

2011-12-13T17:13:08.105-05:00

I'm betting that Keystone gets into the rail building business.

Who here thinks that anybody (in charge) can think...

2011-12-13T12:07:26.393-05:00

Who here thinks that anybody (in charge) can think outside of the box (innovatively) when it comes to anything besides "how to get money for my cronies"?

Just think of the potential for lining the pockets of certain insiders.

Mike, Obviously, I'm looking at users of publi...

2011-12-13T11:53:55.566-05:00

Mike, Obviously, I'm looking at users of public transportation in general. The concept of mass transit is to encourage more people to leave their cars parked and commute by bus or train to work to alleviate the need for additional spending on roads and highways. Proponents of mass transit contend it is impossible to fully fund these forms of public transportation through rider fares. Mass transit typically relies on only about 20% to 25% from fares for its operation. Now, once upon a time, private companies operated trains and bus systems in the major cities, including Indianapolis, without any public funding. I'll let you take a stab at why that approach no longer works.

This *&%$#$#%!!!! I could approve of giving mo...

2011-12-13T11:45:09.988-05:00

This *&%$#$#%!!!! I could approve of giving more money for Indy Go but Indianapolis does not need a light rail system. The rail system will cost millions and will never bring back the money Indy will put into it. It will never pay for itself. What does the new hotels downtown need more workers from Fishers and Noblesville?

This is a horrible boondoggle. Well, who needs Dem...

2011-12-13T10:36:56.464-05:00

This is a horrible boondoggle. Well, who needs Democrats when you have Republicans like Brainard, Ditslear, and Ballard.

"Critics will question the decision to rely on the income tax as a source of funding for mass transit rather than a levy on commuters, a gas tax or toll road charges, which would arguably represent user fees."

I can't believe I read this. No, a user fee would be a rider fare. To increase gas taxes or to enact toll road charges would be the exact opposite of a use fees. One driving on the road is hardly using a train or a bus.